Sustainable Life · Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy for Homes & Community

This page is your starting place for understanding renewable energy options in our local community – from home solar and micro-wind to energy storage and community-scale projects. The goal is to help you cut your bills, reduce emissions, and build local resilience one project at a time.

💡 Start where you are. Efficiency first, then renewables, then storage. Small, practical steps at the household level add up to big change for the whole town.

Where to Start with Renewable Energy

Before we dive into specific technologies, it helps to think in layers:

  • Layer 1 – Efficiency: seal drafts, insulate well, use efficient lighting and appliances.
  • Layer 2 – Smart Use: shift heavy loads to sunny hours, understand your utility bill, reduce waste.
  • Layer 3 – Local Renewables: add solar, micro-wind, or other clean sources sized to your needs.
  • Layer 4 – Storage & Backup: use batteries or other storage (like sand batteries) to ride through outages and peak prices.
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Solar Energy for Homes

Solar photovoltaics (PV) turn sunlight into electricity you can use in your home. With the right design, a system can cut daytime electricity use, support heat pumps, and prepare your home for future storage.

  • How to read your power bill and match solar size.
  • Roof, ground-mount, and carport options.
  • Inverters, optimizers, and basic system components.
Practical, community-focused examples coming from projects here in town.
Compare panel options Learn about home solar
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Solar Panel Types & New Technologies

Not all solar panels are the same. Efficiency, cost, and lifespan can vary – and new technologies like bifacial modules and perovskite cells are opening the door to even more possibilities.

  • Monocrystalline vs. polycrystalline basics.
  • Bifacial panels and how they capture light from both sides.
  • Emerging perovskite technologies and what to watch for.
Focused on real-world performance in cold-climate communities.
Compare panel options
Future update: deeper dive post on bifacial + perovskite research.
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Community Solar & Net Metering

Community solar and net metering policies determine how fairly you’re credited for power you send back to the grid. They are key tools for making renewables accessible to renters, small businesses, and households without perfect roofs.

  • How net metering / micro-generation works in Alberta.
  • What a community or shared solar project might look like here.
  • How local policy and utility rules shape your options.
Part of a bigger conversation about local energy planning and fairness.
Explore community solar ideas
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Sand Batteries & Energy Storage

Batteries are the bridge between when energy is produced and when you actually need it. Beyond lithium, new storage ideas like sand batteries and other thermal systems are emerging as low-cost, robust ways to store heat and electricity.

  • Why storage matters for a resilient local grid.
  • Household storage vs. community-scale storage.
  • Sand batteries and other promising technologies to watch.
Built on independent research and examples from cold-climate communities.
Learn about storage options
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Wind & Micro-Wind Options

Wind energy can complement solar, especially in seasons or locations where winds are strongest when the sun is weakest. Micro-wind is highly site-specific, so good siting and realistic expectations are essential.

  • Where small wind works – and where it doesn’t.
  • Basic components of a micro-wind system.
  • How wind can support community or farm-scale projects.
Looking at wind as one tool in a broader local energy toolkit.
Explore wind possibilities
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Renewable Energy Videos & Lunch & Learns

This section will grow into a small video library as workshops and Lunch & Learns are recorded and posted. The focus will be on practical, step-by-step guides and case studies based on real projects here in the Foothills.

  • Short explainers on key concepts (solar sizing, storage basics, etc.).
  • Recorded talks from community presentations.
  • Walkthroughs of tools, checklists, and digital packs.
Coming as OBS skills and recording workflows are built out.
Follow for upcoming videos
Future: embed a YouTube playlist or individual video players directly here.
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Deep Dives & Blog Posts

For those who like to dig deeper, blog posts on specific topics – like sodium batteries, policy changes, and new technology updates – will be linked here so everything renewable-energy related is easy to find in one place.

  • Technology spotlights (e.g., sodium batteries).
  • Policy and grid changes that affect households.
  • Real-world case studies from our community and beyond.
This section will grow as new posts are published on Sustainable Life.
View renewable energy posts
Example: link your sodium battery post here once it’s live.